The Four
Baked Ratatouille, “The Fine Art of Lying”, Strawberry Basil Galette, Fab Earrings
Hi everyone,
Welcome to this week’s edition of The Four. I’m glad you’re here. It’s my mom’s 88th birthday today and I’m back in Virginia, helping my parents get some caregivers in place so they can continue to live in their home here. It’s a process, and a choice, and it takes a village. More about that another day, but let’s just say it’s a lot.
Meanwhile, I’ve been cooking to relieve my anxiety on many levels (parents’ situation, state of the country and the world) and I’m sharing two delicious recipes below. One is a different take on the classic French vegetable main, ratatouille. The other is a strawberry galette infused with the herbaceousness of basil that I saw on Audrey Le Goff’s Substack, A Table in France. I added a little more sweetness to mine and loved it. I’m also reading more, so I have a book recommendation for you, and I want to tell you about a lovely gift I received for Mother’s Day. Read on.
1. Baked Ratatouille
Some shiny purple eggplant caught my eye at the store the other day and I immediately thought of ratatouille. Usually I dice the vegetables, cook them separately in olive oil, before combining them at the end into what we consider the ultimate vegetarian summer dish. This time, I thought of deconstructing it somewhat and baking it in the oven, topped with Parmesan cheese. Not classic ratatouille, but a twist that would save me some time and be just as delicious. I started with a quick and easy tomato pepper sauce, then layered the vegetable slices in concentric circles. If you really want to save time, you could use a jarred marinara I suppose, but you’d be missing the peppers. This could be assembled in the morning, then baked off later. Lake classic ratatouille, it will taste even better the next day, and can be served hot or at room temperature.
Equipment Needed:
Sauce:
2 T extra virgin olive oil
½ a yellow onion, diced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, grated or minced
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes, or use fresh if you have them
1 t kosher salt
1 t herbes de Provence
Vegetables:
1 medium eggplant, thinly sliced (⅛”)
1-2 zucchini, thinly sliced (⅛”)
2-3 tomatoes (Roma is best), thinly sliced (⅛”)
1 T olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 t herbes de Provence
½ c grated Parmesan (or more if you like)
¼ c chopped basil
Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
Make the sauce by heating the olive oil over medium heat in an oven-safe skillet (I used my Staub braisier). Add the onion and bell pepper and saute until softened but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, and herbes de Provence. Cook until most of the tomato juices have evaporated, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Use an immersion blender, mini prep, or blender to puree the sauce (don’t worry if it’s not super fine, a little chunky is ok). Pour the sauce back into the same pan, or a deep sided baking dish.
Arrange the sliced vegetables in concentric circles on top of the tomato/pepper sauce. Don’t fuss too much. Drizzle vegetables with olive oil, then season with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence. Cover the pan and roast for 25 minutes. Uncover the pan and sprinkle with Parmesan. Return to the oven and roast for 15-20 minutes, uncovered.
Top with basil and serve with rice or pasta.
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2. An Intelligent Beach Read
I’m currently reading “The Fine Art of Lying” by Alexandra Andrews, and it’s hard to put it down and get anything else done. Again I find myself in the rarified world of the 1%-ers on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. This book is a step up from the simplistic, formulaic beach read; a pageturner, but with more nuance and substance. Set in the heady air of New York’s art world, a young mother makes a rash decision which leads to unforeseen consequences of murderous proportions. I found myself constantly Googling the artworks mentioned, fictional and real, to discover more about each piece. Definitely slip this book into your beach bag.
3. Strawberry Basil Galette
I like to combine herbs with desserts; the flavor is unexpected and always delicious. I also love to read about Audrey Le Goff’s life in Brittany (check out her substack, A Table in France) and when I saw she’d combined strawberries and basil in a rustic gallette, I had to try it. I’ve added a little sugar to the crust and base, but you can certainly omit it. I think the almond flour absorbs some of the strawberry juice, keeping the bottom crust from getting too soggy, although like most pastry, this is still best the day it’s made. We’ll be in Brittany ourselves next month, celebrating my mother-in-law’s 90th birthday. More on that coming soon.
